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"The face of the operation is Briatore (referred to exclusively in the film by his colleagues and angry, chanting detractors as "Flavio"), an anthropomorphic radish who spends most of his time at QPR plotting to fire all of the managers."

At press time, Harbaugh had sent Michigan’s athletic department an envelope containing a heavily annotated seating chart, a list of the 63,000 seat views he had found unsatisfactory, and a glowing 70-page report on section 25, row 12, seat 9, which he claimed is “exactly what the great sport of football is all about.”

A Very Short Week

Many of us are returning to work after a long weekend, but one Michigan target will have an even shorter week than most. Three-star NJ OL Will Fries is taking a two-day unofficial visit to Michigan today and tomorrow, per Scout's Brian Dohn ($). Dohn considers this a huge visit for Fries; if all goes well, he could see Fries' recruitment wrapping up soon after the trip. The main competition for Michigan appears to be Penn State and Rutgers, with Northwestern and Duke also factors—Fries has maintained, and his top schools show, that academics are very important in his recruitment. That should help Michigan's chances as Fries gets his first look at campus this week.

Michigan may also get one last shot at impressing four-star Indiana prospects DE Auston Robertson and WR Austin Mack this weekend. Robertson has Michigan in his top three along with Michigan State (the heavy favorite) and Notre Dame, and he told TMI's Josh Newkirk about his tentative visit plans ($):

"Going to Michigan changed the whole game," he said. "It was better than what I expected. They just popped in my top-three right then and there. I got a pretty good relationship with some of the coaches down there. I might go down there on May 30th with Austin Mack. But I'm not sure yet. But I am trying to get to all three of the colleges before I commit. I'm also trying to bring my mom there so she can potentially see where I am going to play at the next level.

If Robertson makes the trip—and, critically, if his mother accompanies him—then Michigan has an outside shot at surpassing their in-state rivals. There's less optimism with regards to Mack, who's long been considered an Ohio State lock; he's even rumored to be a silent Buckeye commit. Both prospects will announce their decision on June 7th, so it's now or never for the Wolverines to make a move.

One confirmed visitor for this weekend is top-50 2017 CO QB Dylan McCaffrey, who'll fly in on Friday and stay until Sunday, per 247's Steve Lorenz ($). McCaffrey is a Stanford legacy—both his father, former Denver Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey, and his brother Christian chose the Cardinal—but thus far they haven't joined Michigan, Penn State, Colorado, UCLA, and Duke in offering him.

The Latest On Rashan Gary

Michigan is widely believed to be one of the favorites—if not the favorite—to land the nation's top overall prospect, Paramus Catholic (NJ) DT Rashan Gary. Gary was expected to make a return trip to Ann Arbor this month, and while Sam Webb reports that trip has been delayed, Michigan is still making progress in Gary's recruitment—especially by connecting with his mom ($):

“I talked to Coach Harbaugh and he is a very personable entertaining guy,” Gary’s mother Jennifer Coney said. “We talked for a long while and it wasn’t even about football. It wasn’t about recruiting even though it was a recruiting call. We didn’t need to talk much football because I can find out most of that stuff when I get over there. He talked about wanting to build the man, not just the football player. He talked about academics. He talked about his family. He has six kids and he talked about trying to figure out how he was going to get his family moved over (to Ann Arbor). He doesn’t whether they were going to fly or drive. That’s why he has work all of those hours… to take care of six kids! (Laughter).

“He is an entertaining guy.”

Gary and his mother are eyeing a late June visit, after Rashan gets out of school. He has three unofficial visits lined up for mid-June: Ole Miss, Auburn, and Alabama. Michigan looks to be in very good shape, but they'll have to fend off a long list of power programs.

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Interest Level: Cold

Michigan offered four-star 2016 NC OT Landon Dickerson last week, per The Wolverine's Brandon Brown ($). As is the norm with a touted recruit hailing from south of the Mason-Dixon line, Michigan will not only have to overcome offers from several powerhouses, but also concerns about the weath-- wait, what?

Right now Dickerson is the No. 16 guard in the country and just a three-star prospect, but with an offer list that includes schools like Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, South Carolina, and Tennessee among others, his ranking is likely to get a boost. Still even with all of those high-profile offers, the Maize and Blue appeals to him.

"Geographically Michigan is probably a great place for me," he said with a laugh. "I'm a cold-weather kind of guy. I'm the guy that when it's 25° outside I don't have a shirt on and I'm in flip-flops. I don't think it could be any better geographically.

If you grew up in a place like Michigan, you not only know people like this exist, but that they're the exact type of person you want playing offensive line for your football team. Dickerson is a long way from making a decision, though he says Virginia Tech and Tennessee have stood out to him. If he wants to get that warm, fuzzy feeling of advanced hypothermia, however, he may seriously consider his new offer.

Dickerson isn't the only rising senior O-lineman to nab an offer of late. Three-star PA OT Johncarlo Valentin* added an offer last week, and he told TMI's Brice Marich he's already familiar with the program ($):

“They offered me after they watched me work out,” Valentin told The Michigan Insider. “I was overly excited. Not really did I see it coming. I am very interested in Michigan. I like everything about them.”

“I already have visited them. I was there last summer and it went wonderful. I do want to visit again, but I just don’t know when yet.”

Michigan joins Arizona State and Virginia Tech as significant offers on Valentin's list, and he's fielding interest from several other top programs. Valentin is high school teammates with one of M's top tight end targets, Naseir Upshur, and the two have spoken about playing together at the next level.

Winston On Campus

2016 U of D Jesuit point guard Cassius Winston, the #23 overall prospect on the 247 Composite, is expected to be on campus today for an unofficial visit, per The Michigan Insider's* Kyle Bogenschutz ($). With two bigs already in the fold—albeit with rumblings that Austin Davis could reclassify to 2017—and Tyus Battle adding a dynamic wing to the class, getting a point guard will be the main focus going forward, and there's little question Winston is at the top of Michigan's wish list.

Winston's father told Bogenschutz that this is still a battle between the Wolverines and Michigan State. Winston will have a little more time to focus on recruiting in the near future, as a broken wrist suffered last weekend will sideline him the next 6-8 weeks.

Top Five-Ish

Top-100 IL DE Josh Kingnamed a final five last Friday, including Michigan in the group along with Michigan State, Penn State, USC, and Notre Dame. According to 247's Steve Lorenz, Michigan State is believed to lead for King, while Michigan is potentially running second. King hasn't set a timeline for his decision.

In case anyone forgot how silly recruiting can be, three-star IL DT Naquan Jones felt compelled to release a "top five" of his own, despite only narrowing his choices to six schools*:

While this top group also has no order, it's pretty easy to glean that Wisconsin and Penn State are running behind the other four schools. Scout's Beth Long reports Jones will make his decision on June 5th, and his top schools were chosen largely based on his relationship with their respective coaching staffs, since he's only visited Michigan State and South Carolina among his top six. Michigan should get their shot; Jones told Scout's Josh Newkirk a pre-decision visit to Ann Arbor is in the works ($).

*To be clear, I'm not making fun of Jones here, but the near-universal, bizarre obsession with naming top fives and tens and almost never any other number.

Hoosier Leader Now?

Michigan hosted a pair of four-star Indiana prospects on Monday, and it was well-known that the Wolverines were working from behind on each. Wide receiver Austin Mack, considered an Ohio State lean, forged a stronger connection with the new coaching staff, per Scout's Josh Newkirk ($):

"This visit really helped a lot," Mack said. "This is the second time I was able to get down and speak with the coaches and build that relationship. It definitely ranks them a lot higher in my eyes.

"Seeing how beneficial the education and the coaches are at Michigan. Knowing that the next few years they won't be losing like they have been. Success is going to come and it's definitely going to come from hard work. They have definitely moved up and are team to think about."

Mack told Newkirk that he has no leader heading into his June 7th decision; the general consensus, however, is that Michigan made a move but still has ground to make up on the Buckeyes.

That's also the case with defensive end Auston Robertson and Michigan State, though Michigan managed to replace another rival in his top three, per ESPN's TomVH ($):

“I don’t really have a relationship like that with Ohio State anymore, so why keep them in the top three,” he said. “So now it’s Michigan State, Notre Dame and Michigan."

Robertson admits the Wolverines have some ground to make up on the other two schools on the list, but says he will give them a shot to do so.

Robertson wants his mother to visit each of his top three schools before he also decides on June 7th, so while Michigan still needs to make a push, they should get that opportunity.